Frantic
by jarjayes
Summary: Sango is running for her life. She does not know how it all started, all she knows is that her life is being threatened by someone. Bad thing, though, she knows who that someone is. CHAP.3 is UP!
1. Frantic One

Silence-- it was threatening.

Sesshoumaru pinched the bridge of his nose to relieve the pounding in his head. It had gotten worse since the last time. He pinched harder but it was still not working. The air around him was hot and damp; he felt sweat collecting in his clothes, despite the occasional cool breeze fanning in, which slightly rustled the leaves of the sakura tree he found himself against.

Sesshouamaru was feverish, hot to the touch. He clamped his eyes tighter to lessen the tension in them as his breathing hitched, sending his head aflutter. He grabbed tighter to the tree trunk as a wave of dizziness assailed him, as the world around him seemed to whirl his body off balance.

What was happening? He did not know nor did he understand but it had been going on for quite some time. Despite his strange state, he strained to remember when and how this all started. But he could not remember. Back then, however, he was able to subdue it. Unlike now, he felt powerless.

_Breathe_, he thought, _just breathe_.

"Sesshoumaru!" he stopped, his eyes flashed open. "Sesshoumaru!" he heard that all too familiar voice call his name again. She was here. He could not let her see him this way—she would think him pathetic and…weak. The throbbing in his head continued, despite his coaxing it away. He wanted to rip the little demon out!

_Breathe._

He heard the familiar stride amidst the thunderous pounding of his heart. The way her kimono rustled as she walked, the silks rubbing against each other in sweet caresses. Her scent filled the air with lilies and wildflowers, seductively invading his brain with visions of nostalgia; the same nostalgia that continued lingering in his body and mind.

She was coming closer…and closer. He had to get away. Strenuously, he willed his eyes to focus in the dark. The moon was out. His face was laden with sweat as he scanned about for a means of escape. He could not let her see him this way!

There were many, he realized, but all of them meant leaping over the mural encased garden, which met being seen.

_Breathe._

The pain was unbearable, though. He could not think straight. Sesshoumaru had to leave. But before he could execute his departure, she was standing right in back of him with her hands to her sides.

"Sesshoumaru," she said softly, "there you are."

Suddenly, the world surrounding him spun faster as the tension built up, hammering harder in his brain. Then darkness enveloped him.

* * *

**Frantic **

By Maritza Lara

_This can't be happening!_

There was one desperate thought in her mind as she ran. There was one desperate feeling as her legs carried her tired body through as the frantic rush of adrenaline, coursing through her veins at thoroughbred speed, carried her desperately for self-preservation.

_This can't be happening!, _she repeated, like a mantra, in her brain, not understanding the full extent of her dilemma. She just ran through the woods with Hiraikotsu fastened tightly to her back. Despite the weight and her legs plagued with fatigue, she ran.

She wanted to stop; she wanted to breathe. But, if she stopped, even for a second, she would stop breathing altogether. This marked the difference between her life and her death; a dire mistake she had not the luxury to commit as her athletic legs moved her through dirt, through grime, carrying her stealthily through the forest grounds over deadwood and uproots.

_This shouldn't be happening!,_ the thought raced in her mind as she maneuvered her body like an automaton, focusing on any route of escape. Far behind, there was a loud crash, indicating another fallen tree. In that instant, she gained more momentum, willing her legs to run faster; willing her arms to hold tighter—onto Hiraikotsu. If only she had made it lighter, it would not have been burdensome right now.

Not far from where she was, the impending threat to her life gained speed, knocking down every tree in its way just to get to her. Sango tried to even out her breathing as her heart pounded wildly.

Why had he not caught up to her yet?

He was stronger than ten men and he moved faster than light; his senses were more acute which made tracking her down effortless. Quickly, she managed to dodge a low hanging branch. It then dawned on her that he was biding time; he was playing with her. Just like a hungry cat playing with a frightened mouse.

CRASH! Another tree met its fate. She noticed he was being rather sloppy. But there was no time to speculate on his newly acquired techniques; he was gaining on her. She dodged more branches and managed to scrape her knee when she tripped over an uproot causing her to land on a huge rock. There was no time to cry now. She scurried quickly to her feet and continued her getaway, limping on that one leg. In no time, she found herself facing an incline. There was no time to think this through. Almost slipping to her death on wet moss, she clawed her way up the hill. She was fortunate to have many huge roots to serve as handholds, pulling her up, and as footholds to push her up. As she strived to climb, she almost slipped under Hiraikotsu's menacing weight. But with prowess, she maintained her hold, climbing up towards the hill's summit. Another tree collapsed in the distance.

_Left, right, left, right…pull, push, pull, push,_ she thought in cadence. Sango was almost at the top. From there, she could pinpoint his location. Until then she was clueless. She grabbed one more jutting root and used it to hoist herself over the mound. When she finally succeeded in bringing her entire body on top, Sango collapsed face down from exhaustion.

Temporarily, she felt a twinge of relief wash over her body; it wouldn't last for long. With her left cheek pressed against the earth, Sango struggled to regain her breathing. Her body trembled as she pressed her face harder to the ground. She wanted to rest…she wanted to cry. That would have to wait. Her priority was getting up and finding safety in the forest, wherever that was.

Reluctantly, Sango lifted her heavy body off the ground; Hiraikotsu had other ideas and seemed to exert its commanding authority on her. She was really in no mood to argue with it. Another tree crashed in the distance. This time, the sound was closer. He was gaining on her. Stiffly, she pushed herself off the ground with renewed strength. It was enough to continue. With her breath still hitched, she began her walk little by little, adding more speed to her stride.

Another loud thud resonated on the forest floor.

He was coming.

She did not know how much more her body could endure this as she limped furiously to get away from promised death. She did not know, precisely, how much time she had before it decided to betray her. If Kirara was here she would have been whisked off to safety…but she was not. On that note, Sango hastened her gait.

It felt like an eternity. The weather was not all too promising, either. The clouds looked heavier and threatened to rain. Sango kept herself out of the open and close to the protection the trees lent under the canopy of their fronderous branches. She maintained herself on the move but cautious enough to keep her eye out for danger, which was not too far away.

It seemed the forest had silenced, which worried her. For the past half hour, she did not hear a tree fall. That was no excuse to let her guard down, however. He was out there—somewhere—looking for her. And it was not precisely to invite for tea. Sango knew that if she stopped, even for a second, he would find her. And judging in the condition in which she found him, he was not to be reasoned with. He left that behind him someplace ago.

With tired limbs, she climbed over downed trees with Hiraikotsu pressuring her. Some logs forced her to crawl under them, against moist, grimy soil. Her injured knee felt worse than before. Going on could be prejudicial to her. She decided she would stop and rest underneath one of these logs. At least, if it should happen to rain, this would shelter her from the onslaught.

Carefully, she set Hiraikotsu aside, keeping it in the standing position and sat herself right on the damp ground. To her discomfort, she felt the moisture seeping through her underside. Carefully, although with a bit of pain, she brought the affected knee close to her chest in order to inspect the injury through the black fabric of her uniform. It was moist. When she touched it with the tips of her fingers, she winced even more and quickly noticed her three middle digits stained with blood.

"Damn!" she swore under her breath.

She would have to tend to it. There was also the possibility that it was a slight scratch. But she would never know unless she peeled the black fabric to examine the skin. Slowly, she guided her fingers back on the wound and reluctantly removed the fabric, wincing as she managed to rip off some scabbing, leaving raw skin. The blood had begun to coagulate around the wound. To her disappointment, it was not closing fast enough.

She looked around her, trying to sense him. At the same time, she searched her person trying to find something to tie around her wound until she was able to get to safety. There was nothing available off-hand, and the satchel she had her affects in were left back at the village she ran out of. At this moment, she wondered if that girl was all right; if she managed to get to safety. And hoping too much, perhaps the girl was with Kirara and they were both looking for her.

Sango inwardly sighed.

_If only my friends were here, _she wished.

"They would know what to do."

As she carefully fiddled with her wound, Sango realized how much her friends meant to her—the possibility of not seeing them again. There were times she took them for granted. All the times they would worry about her well fare and she would push them away. If only she had not done that.

Sango sighed again.

She sat back against the log. Reaching for her wakazashi, she unsheathed it. For a moment, she looked at her reflection on the blade's flat surface, instantly picking up on the minor cuts and bruises. She especially noticed the huge scratch along her jaw line.

He did that, she remembered.

The feeling that welled up inside of her was one she could not explain. She wanted to cry for the only word that came to her mind to describe that feeling was 'disbelief'. She replayed the events in her head and still could not understand how it all happened and why.

She kept her eyes on the scratch.

He did that, she repeated again.

It was not supposed to have happened. It was supposed to be like any other demon extermination job. She was the one hired to rid the demon, not the other way around. As she contemplated her image longer, she was dismayed on how dirty she looked. She was a complete mess. She looked wild and unkempt. Not the Sango she knew she was. In reaction to that, she brought her lips into a pout. Definitely, a warm bath was in good order…if she survived.

Without further ado, she turned the blade onto its dull edge and proceeded to dismantling her left sleeve at the elbow to turn it into a tourniquet. In no time, she cut it around, placed the wakazashi on her lap to strip the fabric from her slender, athletic arm. Again, to her disappointment, her action revealed more bruises running sporadically along her arm. They were dark and hurt to the touch.

There was no time to admire them. Efficiently, she tied what used to be her sleeve around her knee, making sure to apply enough pressure to stop the bleeding, tying the cloth into a knot underneath. There!, she thought.

Sango looked at it—then decided it was good enough. She quickly slipped the blade back into its sheathe, and sat back to rest her tired, aching bones. She closed her eyes for a second—rest—then reopened them. Shifting her vision to the left, she stared at Hiraikotsu standing proudly against the trunk. It was not long ago she had repaired it. That was why she left her friends to return to her village.

Hiraikotsu had been badly damaged during a recent battle with one of Naraku's minions, a scorpion demon. The fight was fierce—Hiraikotsu paid the price for protecting her, for protecting them. When that occurred, Kagome was not there to aid them. Unfortunately, she had gone back home the night before, it was something having to do with some tests she had pending.

Sango sighed in exasperation, looking around for signs of danger. She was safe, so far. She breathed relief then turned her gaze back to her weapon. She had to admit to herself that she did an excellent job mending it, causing her to smile with gratification.

Thinking back on it, the battle with the creature was fierce. Days before that, it would have been easier to eliminate it when it was not that strong—easier, not easy. They had first confronted the monster at a nearby village, not too far away from the shrine. It had been terrorizing the villagers for weeks, but when they finally were called upon, they wasted no time in heading that way.

* * *

Once they arrived, half the village was destroyed, twenty villagers were injured, and five were dead. The destruction itself was terrible. It was then that Sango felt a pang of déjà vu. The village head approached them, desperately pleading for their assistance. She remembered Miroku about to negotiate conditions but when she and Kagome served him their death glares; Miroku immediately knew it was best to refrain. InuYasha, on the other hand, was occupied sniffing the air. The moment his ears perked up, they knew something was about. Without as much as a word, InuYasha was the first to sprint off to action, dashing towards the other side of the village, the side that had not been scathed by the beast. Miroku did not hesitate to follow him close behind, like the hanyou; he took off without a word.

It did not take long to find the scorpion cornered against a rock at the forest's edge. It was resting. InuYasha and Miroku were trying to keep the beast at bay until Sango and Kagome arrived on the scene. It was hissing and its eyes glowed fire. It was huge; probably the size of two huts put together, but not that huge. If she was not mistaken, it probably was not as dangerous, either, if it were not for the poisonous tip of its long, black tail. Its claws were not to be pushed over, either. They were powerful enough to crush bones and slice objects in half.

With Tetsusaiga, InuYasha blocked off one of the demon's claws. Miroku, on the other hand, used his staff to block the other one. Sango quickly untied Hiraikotsu to throw at the beast, in order to give Kagome enough time to gather her spiritual energy and exterminate it with her purification arrow. Sango ran into battle to help the boys. The scorpion haphazardly swung its claw at her. Luckily, InuYasha managed to intercept the attack on time, pushing the offensive appendage off. Sango felt relieved when InuYasha came to her rescue.

"Are you okay?" InuYasha asked, concerned, at the same time keeping himself alert to the scorpion's position. Sango nodded and brought the boomerang in front of her to use as a shield. She was too close to simply swing Hiraikotsu in its direction. There was another attack and InuYasha protected her again.

The fight was troubling; the scorpion refused to give in. When it did not launch attacks with its claws, it did so with its poisonous tail. In one of those attacks, it almost pierced Miroku in his abdomen.

When that occurred, Sango remembered a feeling of sudden dread washing over her as Miroku struggled to stand. She had run quickly to his side, keeping Hiraikotsu positioned to shield herself from attack. The beast was about to repeat the onslaught when, suddenly, Kagome's arrow grazed close above Sango's head, hitting the tail but not piercing it. She recalled the expression on the young miko's face when she realized her power had not affect on the creature.

"Something's protecting its armor!" Miroku pointed out.

But before Sango could add anything to that affect, before InuYasha had time to predict its next move, the scorpion suddenly bounded to the air, landing right in front of Kagome's startled form. Kagome immediately grabbed another arrow, sliding it into the bow, and aiming directly into between the demon's eyes. The demon, by some inexplicable miracle, senses Kagome's impending fear and smacked the girl hard to the side. Sango and the others quickly scattered to Kagome's aid. InuYasha, swinging Tetsusaiga high overhead, lunged at the creature with animal speed, bringing the sword down upon the eight-legged threat with a crunch. Alas, before that crunch could happen, InuYasha was swatted like a fly in midair and was sent soaring backwards like unwanted trash.

Sango's heart hitched for a moment when InuYasha's form crashed far into the field, creating a long trench in the earth. She wanted to run to his aid but found difficulty in this execution as the scorpion-beast retreated threateningly towards Kagome's semi-conscious form.

"Miroku!" she called to the monk beside her. When he heard her voice, he turned. "Get Kagome!" she ordered. He answered her with a curt nod and readied his staff for offensive claws. He ran around Sango, looking for a possible opening to Kagome's location. She was still on the ground knocked out.

"I'm using Kazaana!" he informed her.

Sango shook her head in protest, "It's too dangerous!"

"I just need to pull the demon as far away from Kagome as possible!"

Sango sighed, and then replied, "Do it."

However, the situation made a turn for the worse. Miroku stood confidently in front of Sango. "Here," he offered her his staff, which she accepted. With one fluid movement, he whipped the string of beads from his arm, unleashing the powers of his cursed vortex and aimed determinately at the scorpion. The moment the cloth fell, he opened his hand and the winds started to bring the demon in. When the creature felt its body being pulled in by the vacuum, it planted its enormous claws straight into the earth for anchorage, making Miroku's task the more difficult. At the same time, Kagome's body wavered in the winds, in danger of being lifted off the ground. Sango had to act fast. But risking her own life by throwing herself in the vortex's wake was suicidal if not stupid. But, she had to get Kagome out of there.

"Kirara!" she called her fire-cat, who jumped into action in her full demon form when she heard Sango's desperate voice and raced to retrieve Kagome's body.

"Come on, you son-of-a-bitch!" Miroku swore as the scorpion was slowly being dragged towards him. With its claws anchored to the ground, pulling it just created a set of deep trenches that were similar to gigantic cat claws.

The next transition the world seemed to be moving in slow motion. The moment Kirara landed at Kagome's side, the moment she took her shirt into her mouth to keep Kagome from being swallowed by the wind, Sango noticed something brilliant fly out the miko's green skirt and ride into the direction of the wind. It felt her voice took forever to articulate the words…the words to tell Miroku to stop. It was too late, though. The Shikon Shard had already embedded itself between the demon's ferocious eyes. Miroku noticed it, too.

Quickly, the monk closed his hand into a fist, wrapping the prayer beads back into place. Kirara wasted no time in taking to the air with her prize hanging by the scruff her shirt, taking her where InuYasha lay unconscious. Both Miroku and Sango watched the creature with anticipated interest.

Praying it was only a figment of her imagination, Sango hoped she was not seeing what she thought she was seeing. For a moment, the creature's black form was still. Then that was when the transformation happened. The air around them pulsated in threat and grew stronger and rang louder. The scorpion's claws grew bigger, its legs grew longer and its tail…grew deadlier than ever. Both monk and exterminator stared in awe as the creature reached awful heights; its dimensions spreading, expanding to cover more ground. Before they knew it, it was the size of ten huts!

Sango looked at Miroku for guidance. To her surprise, his eyes doubled in size and his jaw had plummeted in awe.

"Miroku?" she jostled him. Since he did not react, she jostled again, "Miroku!"

When he finally came to reality, Miroku replied to her the best way possible. He took her hand and ran like a bat out of hell, dragging Sango and Hiraikotsu away from the danger at hand. Once they reached Kirara, Miroku wasted no time loading both InuYasha and Kagome on the cat's back, ordering her to take off. Reluctantly, she did, leaving Sango and Miroku on foot.

"Let's leave!" Miroku impared, but Sango caught his sleeve with inquisition in her eyes.

"What about that thing!" she inquired, concerned about letting it run loose.

"With InuYasha out cold, there's not much we can do."

Behind them, there was a loud crash as trees were ripped from the ground. Sango turned on the ball of her heel and sprinted to safety with Miroku in tow. Not far, she saw Kirara's figure flying ahead of them

CRASH! Sango was rattled back to reality to realize that sound was real. It was near. Painfully, she fumbled to her feet, grabbed Hiraikotsu and tuned her ear to the forest. Five seconds later, she heard another crash. This was her cue to relocate…away from danger.

* * *

Red eyes burned in desperation.

The woman was close.

He could smell her.

A tree he had slain not too long ago, lay dead before him on the forest floor, stripped of life. He glared intensely at the fallen thing like an offensive splinter that had to be removed.

He growled at it with disdain.

His face was flushed, his skin burned under the thick layering of silk as sweat mounted up in his garments. Far off, he could hear the frantic cries of birds, squawking wildly in warning to the rest of the world that He was coming—that He was going to destroy everything laid in his path.

All the forest creatures around the vicinity ran the moment they caught ear of his menacing growl, rumbling ferally at the back of his throat. He could hear them scamper pathetically to safety.

Too bad though.

Without as much of a warning, he whipped out his energy whip and swung his arm back and forth, left to right, killing every little vermin in sight. He was able to sense their fear and relished every second they squealed for their lives.

There was another throw of whip here, and another one there. The wonderful aroma of death as their blood brought to his acute nostrils was ambrosia to his senses. And the sensuous sensation, gratification, of exterminating every last one of them brought to him the sweet sense of release.

Tranquility.

Killing those humans, he thought reminiscing, destroying their precious little village, laying waste to their huts…having their lives clutched at the mercy of his hand and, then, taking that away—slaked his hunger; his emptiness.

He would find her—that was his goal.

He sensed her. He sensed her desperation and her fear.

He sensed her determination to survive.

She was not far, though.

Not quick enough.

Surely, not smart enough.

He would quench his thirst…he would do it with her.

(End of Chapter One)

* * *

_**Preview: Everything seemed noraml, except for his splitting headache...**_


	2. Frantic Two

**Frantic Two**

Two days ago, everything seemed normal, except for his splitting headache. Other than that, everything was normal. Nothing exciting, as usual, happened nor was it expected to happen. Sesshoumaru closed his eyes to rest them, trying to will the throbbing behind his eyes to stop. Not far, Rin played cheerfully in the stream, splashing an annoyed Jaken who was growing grumpier by the minute. He heard her contagious giggles heighten in pitch, adding more to his pain.

_Was this all there was to his dreadful existence?, _he wondered.

Sesshoumaru released an inward sigh. Opening his eyes, he realized the pain was still there. The sunlight reflecting off the water's surface did little to improve his condition. Lately, he had been speculating on whether or not his existence had served any purpose, which he found troubling to wonder about in the first place. But he had.

Seven days prior to this one, Sesshoumaru received a message by way of carrier. It was an invitation from his sister's household. Basically, the content of that message ordered him to attend the lunar festival at her estate. He wished she had asked him instead. Gin, his eldest sister, mentioned how his presence was imperative—as he skimmed over the letter—to how it would shame the family and their father's house if he did not grace them with his much needed appearance…etcetera, etcetera, and…etcetera.

For days, he contemplated on whether to comply with her wishes; in all honesty, he preferred suffering Jaken's constant whining before catering to any of Gin's whims. He did not wish to go. He did not feel sociable or the need to be socializing with family and friends. As far as he was concerned, they did not exist. His thoughts on that wavered to awkward. Ever since his father's death, they stopped existing.

How his late father dealt with these formalities was far beyond his comprehension.

In truth, what he wanted to do was avoid the questions, especially the personal ones. In that instant, two multi-colored butterflies fluttered above him performing their ritualistic mating dance. He looked at them and studied the way they fluttered together, then around each other in a helix. That, especially, was the question he wanted to avoid the most. Personally, it was none of their damned business.

He mused as his brows came together in an annoyed scowl.

Simply, it was none of their damned business.

From his self designated spot under a maple tree, he watched Rin as she chased Jaken in childish play. Trying to escape the half crazed girl, the toad ducked under Ah-Un's belly, ending up at the other side to then hop upon the dragon's back to evade the toothy, squeamish seven year old. In turn, Ah-Un became annoyed with Jaken's presumption of using it as a platform. Without warning, it shifted its body towards a more comfortable position, knocking poor Jaken to the ground. Rin clapped gleefully in laughter. Jaken ended up being miffed and could have sworn the lizard joined Rin in her mirth. Despite the comical melodrama before him, Sesshoumaru was in too dark of a mood to inwardly appreciate the theatrics. Suddenly, he rose from his spot and decided to go for a short walk to clear up his head—and, hopefully, improve his demeanor.

Emotional Attachment was never his strong suite. Ever since he was a child, it was an ordeal for him since he was the one who ended up getting hurt. He did not know what Gin pretended with inviting him to the celebration. Although, attending the festivities meant that SHE would be there. That brought back painful memories. She could have been the one; he wanted her to be the one. Due to circumstance, however, they parted ways.

As he remembered, it happened at the last lunar festival he attended.

_How dared she?,_ he thought, a deep guttural growl escaped his throat. He contemplated his thoughts even more as he traveled downstream, moving farther away from his entourage.

He would give Gin a piece of his mind once he had her face to face. She meant well but her intrusion was proving more than bothersome. Her meddlesome nature was unwelcome in any circumstance.

The pain…a sudden pang caught his head. He stopped abruptly to cradle his head. Between thumb and middle digit, he massaged his temples. As he did this, his eyes were squeezed shut to lesson the stabbing pain to his head.

_Damn!,_ he swore within.

He arduously massaged both sides of his head with his fingers, grinding his teeth together as the aching refused to depart.

_This cannot be happening,_ he thought. _Dammit, this cannot be happening!_

He was not weak.

He was NOT weak!

He was not going to allow himself to bow down to weakness. Sesshoumaru continued to rub, squeezing his eyes tighter to prevent tears from escaping their prison. He was not weak, he told himself.

He breathed in, and then breathed out. Breathed in, then breathed out. He repeated this again, and again. Slowly, the pain dissipated. He breathed in…breathed out. He kept up with his breathing exercises.

_Clear mind, _he thought, _clear mind. Relax…just relax._

Suddenly, it was gone…just like that.

Sesshoumaru exhaled relief and decided to sit on a nearby rock. He continued to massage his temples, then guiding his fingers to the middle of his forehead he lead them to the very top of his head, trying to soothe away the pain, lastly (sliding at) ending up at the very back. Here he opened his hand, clamping the back of his neck. Immediately, he felt his hair damp with sweat.

The pain was worse than the last one he had the night before.

Gin made it imperative his attendance. He much rather skip it. Unconsciously, he massaged his neck to release more tension in his muscles. Obviously, she had ulterior motives, which he did not appreciate.

How dared she question his pride and honor—his honor, most of all? At this moment, just for the sake of relieving built up tension, he would pick a fight with InuYasha and his cohorts than to come at Gin's beck and call.

Perhaps, a fight was not such a bad idea after all.

A good sparring match with his hanyou brother would do him a world of good. Sesshoumaru removed his hand to admire his sharp claws. _That would be in good order_, he thought with a bit of a dangerous twinkle in his eyes. He flexed and opened his hand and realized to his delight that InuYasha was not too far from where he was. Perhaps, he was going to get his match and if all met his satisfaction, he might even comply with his sister's penchant to invite the half ling to the gathering; if and always the halfling was still breathing. At least, to his credit, he could tell Gin of his attempt to extend said invitation so she could simply leave him the hell alone. With that in mind, he finally decided that he would go out of his way to _extend_ the courtesy.

* * *

Finding the village was not hard; he remembered its location from the very first time he encountered InuYasha after the fifty years the halfling was disgracefully pinned to the holy tree. Inwardly, Sesshoumaru sighed, thinking on how pathetic his brother, who was unfortunately also a member of the InuYoukai tribe, had succumb to the influences of a human priestess. Back then, he had been searching for Tetsusaiga and was close to retrieving it if it were not for that meddling girl getting in the way.

That girl-- he sneered predatorily-- how she irked him so! And it was not only her meddling that infused rage in him: it was her voice, the sickening smell of her hair, her girlish smile, the way she dressed, the way she defied him by addressing him like they were equals, the way she dared talk back to him feigning respect that was, in reality, treating him with familiarity. Everything about her irked him, especially the way she smelled. It was quite hard to describe her scent. There was a hint of something familiar that was overpowered by something strange. He growled at the thought and wanted nothing better than to chase it from his head.

Sesshoumaru wanted to scream.

Why did his brother showed a certain liking to this girl again? How could he like her if she was _annoying_? Sesshoumaru then quickly realized that so was his brother. Perhaps, it was her infuriating attributes that kept InuYasha's in check.

Bounding from tree to tree, he sniffed the air to pinpoint the whelp's location. To this point, InuYasha's scent was weak as was his aura. Sesshoumaru decided to stop near the shrine; putting his nose again to the air he did pick up two very familiar scents. From his perch, he noticed very little activity at the shrine despite his nose telling him different. He bounded further for a closer look, following the scents. Finally, landing in a tree overlooking the courtyard. It did not take long to see the monk sweeping the yard of fallen leaves.

Perhaps, he should _ask_ him where InuYasha could be found? Sesshoumaru mulled over as he looked around searching for the source of the other scent. To his annoyance, it belonged to the kitsune, another one of InuYasha's pesky friends. Where was he?

There! Not far from where the monk labored, the red-haired fox child played with his toys, unaware that the InuYoukai was nearby watching them. By the manner they went about, their guard was completely down; if Sesshoumaru wanted he could attack them right now without them knowing what hit them. He would tear the monk the shreds and stomp the child to ribbons. _No!_ He abruptly shook his head.

That would be risky. In the past, he had paid dearly for underestimating the monk.

He noticed they were alone. To his surprise, he could not sense the priestess nor the other woman, the taijiya. And to add insult to injury, neither did he sense InuYasha. Disappointed, he determined that there was no point on sticking around if InuYasha was not there to indulge his fancy. Of course, he could start a fight with the monk but he doubted the monk had the endurance or resistance to survive the fight. Anyway, it was beneath him to lower his standards. Sesshoumaru was a warrior not a bandit.

It was time to head back to camp but when he was about to, the kitsune broke the silence between him and the monk.

"Hey, Miroku!" called the kit.

The monk stopped working, wiping the sweat from his brow and answered, "Yes, Shippou, what is it?"

"When is Kagome coming back? She promised she'd be back with treats."

The monk hesitated for a moment and then replied, "In the evening, I suppose. You know how important her tests are to her so do not be miffed if she arrives later than that."

"Oh," muttered the fox demon, looking down upon the top in his tiny hands, and then, "When's InuYasha coming?"

Sesshoumaru's ears perked.

"Tomorrow," answered the monk.

To that, Sesshoumaru arched one delicate eyebrow.

_Tomorrow?_

"Oh," Sesshoumaru noticed the disappointment in the fox-child's voice.

Slightly dragging the broom behind him, the monk walked towards the child with a smile in his eyes and humor in his voice, "My, my, Shippou," he said, sitting next to the kitsune, "and I thought you would be greatly relieved with InuYasha gone."

"And Sango and Kirara won't be back the day after tomorrow," Shippou sighed exasperation and mumbled, "Everyone has something to do," he reflected.

"I have a good idea."

"Is it any good?" the child asked, still looking down on his toy.

"We could wait over by the well, if you like?" Miroku suggested, hoping to put Shippou at ease.

"What's the use, Kagome won't be here until nightfall."

"True, true, but at least it would help untangle the anxiety in our stomachs." Shippou eyed him. "But, then again, I guess you are right," with that said, the monk stood up and decided to continue with his chores. The kit, on the other hand, collected his toys and scampered off.

"So, InuYasha does not return until tomorrow," Sesshoumaru mused as he stayed hidden in his perch among the foliage of the trees. "Hmmm? Arrive from where?"

For an instant, he thought he would reveal himself and ask the monk himself the whereabouts of his brother—the monk was not too far from his sights. But when he thought about it, he determined to shake the idea abruptly from his brain, refraining himself from asking the holy man.

The monk, he thought, did not look like much of a threat to him but the knowledge of him possessing that cursed vortex in the palm of his hand made Sesshoumaru cautious enough not to approach him. Perhaps, he surmised, it would be better to ask _the girl_, instead. If he had heard right, which he did, she was expected to arrive later in the evening. The monk said something about waiting by the well.

He scanned the area to see if he could see one.

He would have to search for it, which should not prove difficult for his superior senses. Suddenly, the prospect of asking InuYasha's wench made him feel quite uneasy. He would never admit that.

* * *

Expectantly, the well had seen better days; Sesshoumaru quirked an eyebrow upon concluding that it was not much to look at. Another relic. Since the day they first met, the day he sought out InuYasha concerning the whereabouts of Tetsusaiga, the priestess irked him. She continued irking him even afterwards.

InuYasha's other companions were bothersome but not as much as the miko. Even the other one, the taijiya, was far more tolerable than his brother's wench. She knew proper respect and kept her distance. She never spoke to him out of turn and kept a civil tongue in her head; she was strong and well skilled for a demon-slaying human—she knew when to back down when the proper authority was present. What was her name again?

He decided that it did not matter.

He would wait here until the miko decided to grace him with her presence. He would demand she reveal the brat's location. And if she proved obstinate—which he was hoping she would—he would slash the life out of her. To that, he thought, Sesshoumaru looked forward to.

The corners of his mouth curved slightly heavenward.

The monk mentioned that she would arrive sometime in the evening. Much to his annoyance, he would have to wait. Without hesitation, Sesshoumaru quickly chose a tree to sit under in wait of the girl. It was shady enough to protect him from the heat; it had the most leaves.

He went over and relaxed under it, making sure to get comfortable enough to endure his wait and not too comfortable so that he could detect her arrival. The well was directly in sight. He glared at it. There was something definitely odd about it. If she was supposed to pass this point, he discerned that she came from the opposite direction. Although, he knew of no nearby village that housed miko with her kind of attire-- her very _indecent_ attire.

That was a mystery he would have to unravel at a later time.

On that thought, Sesshoumaru lay back against the trunk and closed his gold-colored eyes. The light was bothering him again—more than before. Perhaps, this was due to his lack of sleep. But when did he ever sleep? Sesshoumaru massaged his right temple in a clockwise direction to chase away the semblance of a slight throb.

Lately, nightmares had plagued his rest, forcing him to wake up in cold sweat. Thinking back on it, he could not remember what they were about. However, they did leave a feeling of foreboding. He remembered his breathing exercises…_inhale and exhale_…_inhale_ _and_…He slowly expelled air from his lungs in attitude of meditation. Clipping the bridge of his nose, he clamped his eyes shut trying to reduce the irritation done to them. For the first time in a long time, he felt anxious.

Something was wrong.

* * *

It was close to nightfall when Sesshoumaru finally stirred from his nap to see the girl standing at the edge of the well hoisting up that ugly, yellow carrying pack to her back. It was pregnant with, what he discerned, a plethora of supplies. There was food in its content with other things that smelled strangely of flowers. He observed her as she fixed her strange green and white temple robes.

Definitely, he thought, it was _very indecent_.

He knew of places where she would have been stoned to death for exposing her flesh like that. He shook his head; he was not going to get sidetracked from the business at hand. It was time to interrogate her. Reluctantly, he rose from his position and sauntered towards her in the dark.

* * *

How did you like the second chapter? Please leave a review.

And before I forget, check out my other fic **It's All About the Candy!** in order to enter the **"It's All About the Candy!" Fanfic Sequel Contest**. More details on my profile.

**_Preview: __Hiraikotsu's weight was a huge factor... Nevertheless, she pushed forward._ **


	3. Frantic Three

**Frantic Three**

A flock of blackbirds flew overhead squawking chaotically as another tree met its fate. Sango did not know how long she had been on the move but her knee did nothing to contribute to her safety. Hiraikotsu's weight was a huge factor in her ordeal. Nonetheless, she pushed forward evading huge fallen branches and uproots on her path, maintaining herself under the protection of foliage.

The forest was aware of the impending danger that threatened to level it down. Sango could hear the frantic cries of the creatures, like the crows making circles in the sky. Their warning caws reminded the tajiya to stay alert and push further. She did not know if it was mainly from exhaustion or possible blood loss that Sango could have sworn that she could hear them screeching, _Don't stop! Don't stop! He's coming! Don't stop!_

All this running rendered her dizzy from short-windedness. But whatever it was, may it be illusion or whatever else one could call it, she could not stop.

The deeper she moved into the forest, the less sure she was about finding her way back. She was beginning to lose her perception. That she would have to figure out later once she found shelter to wait the danger out. If Sango knew she would not need Hiraikotsu, she would have tossed it aside if it meant a better chance of surviving. Like any friend, nevertheless, she could never throw Hiraikotsu away like useless trash. To her exasperation, she would take her chances even if Hiraikotsu weighed her down.

Better to have it than to need it later.

Padding her way through thick vegetation, Sango trekked with great effort. It had rained and everything was damp, including Sango—just a light shower, but everything was drenched making the earth slippery. Suddenly without warning, the ground under her gave way and Sango went mud sliding down the side of the hill, careening fast down the slope. In her effort to stop the procession, she instinctively brought Hiraikotsu in front of her to use as a shield. To her misfortune, her miscalculation caused her entire body to be catapulted off the ground, sending her rolling the rest of the way down, getting banged up pretty bad by the boomerang during her descent.

It was a huge rock that broke her fall—practically breaking her back when she crashed against the huge boulder—followed by a loud thud. Pain coursed up her spine. Her vision went blurry. The next thing she knew, all went black.

It was awhile before Sango regained consciousness. When she woke up, a river of pain gushed up her spine. She had hit herself hard. And before she was able to make sense of anything, she found herself sandwiched between the boulder and Hiraikotsu; it was securely half-buried in the ground. A terrible thought came to mind—a little more and that could have been her pinned- split in half- by Hiraikotsu.

She had no idea how long she blacked-out. There was not much light where she lay. The ambience itself was dim with a wash of gray. Practically, there was no sunshine to pierce through the thick foliage of the canopy.

The quietness was deathly, nothing moved. She wished she could say it was serene but it was not. It was dark and eerie…and Sango was in a world of hurt. She tried to move but was met with more pain when she did. This was bad. She stilled for a moment to listen to the forest.

She heard nothing… only her breathing following the pace of her own heart. There was flapping overhead, which startled her a little. It had to be a crow, she assumed. She had seen a lot of them earlier. Moving was out of the question, she had to rest.

The aching in her knee seemed to have numbed a bit. That did not look too promising. With her face against the soil, she began thinking and realized how much she missed her friends. Sango would have given anything to have them with her right now; telling her everything was going to be all right.

None of this should have happened.

She closed her eyes to rest them. At the same time, she hoped all this was an awful dream. Logic, however, assured her that this was real.

Screw logic, it was the pain she felt in her body that assured her that **all this** was real!

Keeping her eyes closed, she thought in her friends, hoping that by thinking in them her thoughts would lead them to her. Hoping that they would come. Hoping that Kirara went for help.

Miroku, she thought. She should not have yelled at him before leaving. She clamped her eyes tighter to see his face.

He had fondled her and she got angry with him. Said things to him before flying off to her village. She should not have gotten angry.

They did not capture the scorpion demon, it was still on the loose, threatening to level the village. The situation had become complicated—it possessed a shard. InuYasha and Kagome had recovered from their ordeal with minor bruises. Of course, once Miroku told them everything that happened, InuYasha was the first to react.

Sango opened her eyes and thought how mad InuYasha was for the committed negligence. He had yelled at Miroku for using Kazaana to pull the demon away from Kagome, risking getting Kagome pulled into the vortex in the process. Sango was the next one to get yelled at for letting Miroku go with his plan in the first place. And, not wanting to make her feel left out, InuYasha also yelled at Kagome for not leaving the shard back at the shrine in Kaede's care.

Kagome tried coming up with an excusable defense as to why the shard was in her pocket instead of in the vile where she kept the others. InuYasha would have none of that. As a result to his ankle biting, InuYasha's face met dirt.

All this occurred at supper.

Sango swallowed hard on bile. She had to get up off the ground and move to safety. She stirred a little to her right, her hand inching to touch Hiraikotsu. It was wet and plastered with mud. It was going to take some time to dig out. Sango sighed. She placed her palm against it and ran her hand along the dorsal. The sash on the jutting end was filthy. She then ran her fingers on the area that was recently repaired. The scorpion managed to damage Hiraikotsu during their last battle.

She tried moving again; it felt like a dagger going into her back.

Three days before now, they were standing ready with their weapons at hand.

* * *

It had been three days they first engaged the enemy in battle. Sango and Miroku had driven the demon out of its hiding place. It had been a fastidious chase but well worth the effort and energy for the sake of retrieving the Shikon Shard embedded in its head. Since last time, the demon had grown bigger and continued to grow bigger, stronger, and uglier by the day. Now, it was only the five of them. Kagome had to return home the night before to attend to personal business. Without her spiritual powers to help them out, the gang found themselves at a disadvantage.

They surrounded the beast in a grassy plain, which made it more difficult for them to maneuver through the tall grass. But, there was an added advantage; the scorpion had difficulty in turning its body quickly. So, it resorted to staying put and using its claws and tail to fight.

Earlier, Shippou and Kirara almost met their end if it were not for Sango attacking the monster with Hiraikotsu. The Scorpion, in its haste to deflect the weapon, had let both cat and kitsune make their escape. Unfortunately, Hiraikotsu took damage from the monster's tail to render it inservible.

The battle had grown intense. Sango was not sure she would leave it unscathed. Everybody else, to her judgment, were losing their stamina—but so was the scorpion. Regrettably for them, the demon still had more left in him to give. Sweaty and fatigued, the gang searched for an opening to defeat it.

As the perfect defense, the creature kept close to the ground keeping its eyes, ears, and sense of touch in optimum acuity. It was still but its eyes flared red. Sango knew it was getting ready to attack, so she readied Hiraikotsu, despite the damage done to it earlier, keeping her body steady and her mind focused.

The fighting had gone longer than expected but when all had finally ended with InuYasha's Kaze no Kizu, the creature was destroyed. But before that occurred, Miroku had used his Kazaana to take the thing off kilter giving Sango the chance to throw her Hiraikotsu. However, instead of inflicting damage, the Scorpion deflected her attack by whacking the boomerang with the business end of its tail, piercing it. At that moment, Sango's heart almost dropped to the pit of her stomach as Hiraikotsu was flung aside.

What before was a mighty foe, was now a festering corpse. Since Kagome was not there to purify the shard, Sango took it upon herself to retrieve it from the creature's head using a piece of cloth to avoid direct contact. She immediately offered the shard to Miroku to purify but he told her that he could not. His holy powers were not as pure as Kagome's. He told Sango to hang on to it until they returned to the shrine.

To their relief, the villagers were saved. The left over demon carcass was minced to pieces, and then buried. Miroku sealed the remains with his ofudas. By the time the sun set, they were exhausted.

By nightfall, they were back at the shrine. While the others rested, Sango examined Hiraikotsu to see the full extent of its damage. The Scorpion youkai had pierced it through, in the center. And when it threw the boomerang aside; that was when the true damage was done. Sango realized that if she did not repair it right away, it would surely split in two the next time she used it.

"Is everything alright, Sango?" Kaede asked, Shippou fast asleep on her lap.

"I must return to my village tomorrow."

"It looks very bad."

Sango nodded in agreement.

"Will you tell the others of your decision?"

"First thing tomorrow."

The very next day, Miroku insisted that she stay until Kagome returned from the other side. But, the Taijiya refused to wait. Not even Shippou's puppy-eyed look could sway her. In that, InuYasha just shrugged his shoulders like he did not care but she knew he was very annoyed. Miroku had no other choice but to stop insisting.

As they said their good-byes, Sango felt his hand creeping down her back and settling on her rear end.

Thwack!

Without a word, she left on Kirara's back rather annoyed. She heard Miroku's voice begging her to come back but she did not listen. Instead, she ignored him and ignored InuYasha's yelling. She could not quite make out his words—something having to do with Kagome.

When she finally arrived at her village by noon, she wasted no time and headed to the forge where Hiraikotsu would be repaired. With Kirara sniffing the air for potential enemy youkai, she followed her mistress as this one place the weapon against the east wall. Sensing no danger, Kirara morphed back into her basic cat form.

As Sango began removing her gear and placing it on the tatami mat, a little piece of cloth rolled out from her belongings. She gasped, in surprise, to realize that it was the Shikon Shard from the Scorpion. She then remembered when InuYasha was yelling for her to come back. In her haste to fix Hiraikotsu, and the added fact that she was angry with Miroku, she had forgotten to leave Kaede the shard so then Kagome could purify it once she got back.

"I have to go back."

But, if she returned to the shrine she would lose the entire day she needed to repair her weapon. It was then that she looked at Kirara, who stared back at her.

"If I go back, then Hiraikotsu can't be mended until tomorrow."

Kirara mewed her reply.

"Don't worry, we'll tend to Hiraikotsu, now. You can be at ease," she assured the fire-cat. At those words, Kirara hopped onto the tatami and pulled out a ball within Sango's possessions and started playing.

* * *

Another loud thud brought Sango back to reality. Another tree had been sacrificed to the forest gods. Her heart was thumping rapidly as a second tree met its doom. Despite the distance, she could hear the commotion in the forest, followed by a huge explosion.

Sango carefully rolled closer to the boulder for protection. Whatever that was, a tree did not produce it. The sound was harder—like a hammer striking stone. Glimpsing upwards, through the foliage, flocks of birds zipped frantically overhead in escape. Their cries was so deafening that Sango had to plug her ears with her fingers.

He was close. She could sense it.

She was afraid.

She scanned the forest grounds for leaves or fallen branches with leaves in an effort to conceal herself from sight. There was nothing she could use within her reach.

_What's the use?_ she remembered, _He can still smell me._

The air suddenly picked up and the trees rustled violently with a strong wind. Sango, feeling terror, felt a sudden jolt of jyaki precipitating around her. It was horribly strong. Little animals were seen scurrying past her for a more suitable hiding place.

He was here—and here for HER.

Sango's heart skipped a beat as her breathing became short.

_Breathe! _she closed her eyes tight, forcing herself to hold back crying. _Just breathe!_

Thoughts of her friends coming to her rescue came to mind. But she knew they weren't coming. Not now. They were too far and ignorant of her present ordeal. Suddenly, she shivered with uncertainty of the outcome.

She and Kirara had separated forcibly. If the fire-cat was all right, Sango did not know. She had an inkling that he had done something awful to her. And if Kirara was not dead, she might be wounded somewhere.

_Breathe!_ she demanded herself.

The jyaki grew stronger.

_Breathe._ She closed her eyes, hearing her own heart beat. He was getting closer.

It has been three days since Sango left the shrine. Her hard work during these days truly paid off. In the forge, she admired the excellent job she did on Hiraikotsu; the large crack was non-existent and she was terribly proud of herself. Kirara lied under the window taking in the sunlight that shined through. To Sango's satisfaction, she looked up the moment the cat mewed in delight. She smiled when Kirara twitched into a ball.

Satisfied with Hiraikotsu, Sango unfolded and carried it to the wall in front of her, resting it against it.

_Whew!_ She let out, using her haori to wipe the sweat off her brow.

She looked at it and admired her work. And when she thought she had enough, she decided to go for a walk. The crisp, clean air was enough to set her in a good mood. Today, she was heading back; Kagome would be there. Finally, Sango could give her the shard.

Having it with her for the past three days was nerve wrecking. In that period, she killed three youkai with Kirara. Obviously, they had come to claim it. With Hiraikotsu still in the forge, Sango resorted to using her wakazashi as defense and left over weapons. Luckily, these youkai were not very strong.

_Breathe;_ she commanded her mind as she took in a lungful of air. Then slowly letting it back out. Today, she thought, was a very beautiful day. By the sun's position, she could tell it was noon.

"It's time for lunch," she said to no one in particular.

She turned to the forge and making sure her voice was heard, she called the cat to come, "Kirara!"

Quickly, the fire-cat prattled out the entranceway, running to Sango's side. Sango bent down and gathered the feline in her hand, bringing her gently to her chest. Kirara mewed in delight as her mistress took them to the hut.

Lunch proved very satisfying; she made white rice, steamed vegetables, and steamed fish smothered in bits of green onion and soy sauce. It was not much but the meal settled well in her stomach. When she finished eating, she decided it was time to start packing for the long trip back to the shrine. She gathered her black attire and personal affects, which she washed the day before and neatly folded it into the carrying cloth.

She swept the forge before leaving.

Then she remembered. She walked over to a small shrine that she herself had set for Buddha. In a worn out red platter was the Shikon Shard. She had placed the crystal under Buddha's care. The bronze statuette was placed to guard it. Sango brought her hands together in prayer, kneeling before the idol.

Her prayer was silent. She asked for good fortune on her way back. Once that was done, she bowed short and then reached over to claim the crystal. The moment she touched it, she felt the dark energy spark at her fingertips. It must have been left over by the scorpion. Sango sighed as she kept her hand hovering over the relic.

She looked about and found some parchment lying haphazardly on the floor. She took it and folds it, and quickly took the crystal and deposits it into her makeshift envelope.

When she was about to place it in her satchel, she heard a voice call outside. Promptly, she shoved the envelope into her haori, directly over her heart, and ran outside to attend the unexpected visitor.

"Taijiya!" the voice called.

"I am coming!" Sango exclaimed.

Once outside, Sango stood face to face with a young woman who appeared to be of her same age. The woman was trembling in fear and desperation. Her face was covered in sweat and her clothes…in blood.

"Are you the demon slayer?"

"Yes, I am."

"Good." With that, the woman fainted

**Thank you all for waiting patiently! I want to thank all of you for reading this fic and leaving wonderful reviews! Real life can often get in the way of things but finally, I've posted! God Willing, I will post the next chapter soon.**

**BTW...I'm thinking of hosting a fanart contest for this story. So, if anyone wants to send me any artwork you can do so!**

**Next chapter: **_**Kaori was her name. When she arrived, she was covered in blood.** _


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